Manchester United loanee Wilfried Zaha (currently at Crystal Palace) posted an inspirational image on social networking site Instagram reflecting the success story of Gareth Bale, indicating he is determined for a similar career outcome as the Real Madrid winger.

The headline in the image relates to a Daily Mail report in October 2009, speculating that Tottenham Hotspur were ready to allow the former Southampton full-back to leave for Birmingham for just £3 million.

The report states: ''Alex McLeish [then Birmingham City boss] is lining up a move for Tottenham defender Gareth Bale when the transfer window opens in January.'

''Wales international Bale has had a torrid time since arriving at White Hart Lane from Southampton two years ago and has made just one start in the Premier League this [2009-10] season.''

After the slow start to the campaign, the now Real Madrid winger went on to become an ever-present fixture in that Spurs side towards the end of the season, even scoring the winning goals against both rivals Arsenal and Chelsea in consecutive matches. The rest is history.

And the story of both Bale and Zaha's start to life in the Premier League is fairly similar, having both signed from Championship clubs at a young age for relatively big money.

Neither hit the ground running, despite their obvious raw ability, and now Zaha finds himself in a similar position to Bale's in October 2009 - a player with an unclear future at the club that plucked him from the lower leagues at a young age.

Now on loan with former side Crystal Palace, it is no surprise Zaha is starting to look at examples of fellow professionals that have suffered similar situations but have come out better on the other side. And Bale's story may just be the best one out of the collection.